According to lawmakers, Rosenstein confirmed that the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the election is no longer strictly a counterintelligence investigation — a kind of probe that does not normally result in charges — but also a criminal one.

Yes, quoting Lindsey Graham, although he was less clear than The Hill's statement.

A little more:

From Rod Rosenstein's order: "If the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters."

From 28 U.S.C. § 600.1:

Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel.The Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney General, will appoint a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted and -(a) That investigation or prosecution of that person or matter by a United States Attorney's Office or litigating Division of the Department of Justice would present a conflict of interest for the Department or other extraordinary circumstances; and(b) That under the circumstances, it would be in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter.

I don't see how this appointment is not about a criminal investigation. In fact, not counter-intelligence but criminal matters seem to be both the ground for and primary focus of Mueller's appointment.

President Trump called the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, weeks after he took office and asked him when federal authorities were going to put out word that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation, according to two people briefed on the call. . . .

The day after the Flynn conversation, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, asked Mr. Comey to help push back on reports in the news media that Mr. Trump’s associates had been in contact with Russian intelligence officials during the campaign.

Mr. Comey described all of his contacts with the president and the White House — including the phone call from Mr. Trump — in detailed memos he wrote at the time and gave to his aides. . . .

Mr. Comey has spoken privately of his concerns that the contacts from Mr. Trump and his aides were inappropriate, and how he felt compelled to resist them. . . .

This article goes on to quote Ben Wittes, of Lawfare Blog and Brookings, on concerns which Comey brought to him (the men are friends) about Trump's behavior and the pressure for loyalty brought to bear on Comey. At one now famous White House ceremony, according to Witte,

Mr. Comey — who is 6 feet 8 inches tall and was wearing a dark blue suit that day – . . . tried to blend in with the blue curtains in the back of the room, in the hopes that Mr. Trump would not spot him and call him out.

“He thought he had gotten through and not been noticed or singled out and that he was going to get away without an individual interaction,” Mr. Wittes said Mr. Comey told him.

But Mr. Trump spotted Mr. Comey and called him out.

“Oh and there’s Jim,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s become more famous than me.”

With an abashed look on his face, Mr. Comey walked up to Mr. Trump.

“Comey said that as he was walking across the room he was determined that there wasn’t going to be a hug,” Mr. Wittes said. “It was bad enough there was going to be a handshake. And Comey has long arms so Comey said he pre-emptively reached out for a handshake and grabbed the president’s hand. But Trump pulled him into an embrace and Comey didn’t reciprocate. If you look at the video, it’s one person shaking hands and another hugging.”

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

IIRC, it looked more like he wanted to plant that kiss he first blew across the room to Comey.

I have a question about this

President Trump called the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, weeks after he took office and asked him when federal authorities were going to put out word that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation, according to two people briefed on the call. . . .

When was the fact that there was an investigation first known? If Trump wasn't briefed on such (which I also am in the dark about), how did he know that there was one for him to be concerned about? From what they heard about Flynn? But they didn't - or so they say...

scrmbldggs wrote:IIRC, it looked more like he wanted to plant that kiss he first blew across the room to Comey.

I have a question about this

President Trump called the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, weeks after he took office and asked him when federal authorities were going to put out word that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation, according to two people briefed on the call. . . .

When was the fact that there was an investigation first known? If Trump wasn't briefed on such (which I also am in the dark about), how did he know that there was one for him to be concerned about? From what they heard about Flynn? But they didn't - or so they say...

If not before, they should have known almost from day one: although there was a story out that Comey revealed this in December (or at least post election) and was criticized for not having revealed it prior to as with HRC.

All this indicates that, about the time Comey thought he'd gotten Trump to understand his role, including the Russia investigation, Trump became exasperated with Comey's independence - and thus decided to fire him.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

Xcalibur wrote:If not before, they should have known almost from day one: although there was a story out that Comey revealed this in December (or at least post election) and was criticized for not having revealed it prior to as with HRC.

That's my recollection, that it had begun during the campaign and Comey was criticized for keeping it, but not other matters, quiet.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

Maddow just featured the Times'/Wittes story. She first interviewed Michael Schmidt, the reporter. Then Matt Miller, former DOJ spokesperson, and she discussed a very intriguing question: did Rod Rosenstein know about Comey's concerns with the pressure Trump, Priebus, and the "White House" were putting on him? If so, Rosenstein is really on dubious ethical ground - and the Mueller appointment doesn't even make up for the memo, IMO: in fact, he appointed Mueller because of his memo was indefensible. If Rosenstein knew about Comey's predicament, well, the word Dolchstoß comes to mind.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

Maddow is now doing the Reuters Victor Medvedchuk/18 contacts story, will be interviewing the reporter.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/s ... are-repeal wrote:A top official in the Health and Human Services Department allegedly suggested that if insurers supported the House GOP Obamacare repeal bill, the administration would continue funding subsidies that President Trump has threatened to halt that keep out-of-pocket costs down for low income consumers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The offer — said to have been put forward by Seema Verma, the Trump-appointed administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (pictured above) — left insurance industry officials “stunned,” the newspaper said.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/s ... are-repeal wrote:A top official in the Health and Human Services Department allegedly suggested that if insurers supported the House GOP Obamacare repeal bill, the administration would continue funding subsidies that President Trump has threatened to halt that keep out-of-pocket costs down for low income consumers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The offer — said to have been put forward by Seema Verma, the Trump-appointed administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (pictured above) — left insurance industry officials “stunned,” the newspaper said.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

I am writing to raise questions about the apparent conflicts of interest of the Vice Chairman of the Presidential Transition Team, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who reportedly has been selected by the President-elect to be his National Security Advisor.

Recent news reports have revealed that Lt. Gen. Flynn was receiving classified briefings during the presidential campaign while his consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, Inc., was being paid to lobby the U.S. Government on behalf of a foreign government’s interests. Lt. Gen. Flynn’s General Counsel and Principal, Robert Kelley, confirmed that they were hired by a foreign company to lobby for Turkish interests, stating: “They want to keep posted on what we all want to be informed of: the present situation, the transition between President Obama and President-Elect Trump.” When asked whether the firm had been hired because of Lt. Gen. Flynn’s close ties to President-elect Trump, Mr. Kelley responded, “I hope so.”

Flynn Intel Group apparently was hired by a company whose founder, Kamil Ekim Alptekin, is the Chairman of the Turkish-American Business Council, represents Turkey in the Board of the United States Nowruz Commission, and reportedly helped organize the Turkish President’s 2016 visit to Washington, D.C. Mr. Ekim Alptekin has described himself as being “committed to boosting Transatlantic trade and bolstering the commercial angle of decades-long Turkish-American partnership.”

On Election Day, November 8, 2016, Lt. Gen. Flynn published an op-ed in The Hill advocating on behalf of the government of Turkey, entitled: “Our Ally Turkey Is In Crisis and Needs Our Support.” In that op-ed, Lt. Gen. Flynn wrote: “The U.S. media is doing a bang-up job of reporting the Erdogan government’s crackdown on dissidents, but it’s not putting it into perspective.” He also wrote: “We need to adjust our foreign policy to recognize Turkey as a priority. We need to see the world from Turkey’s perspective.”

Lt. Gen. Flynn also was paid to travel to Moscow in December 2015 and join Vladimir Putin at the head table during a dinner honoring the Kremlin-backed media network RT. During the event, Lt. Gen. Flynn gave a speech that was highly critical of the United States, stating, “The United States can’t sit there and say, ‘Russia, you’re bad.’” Lt. Gen. Flynn has stated that he was paid by his speaker’s bureau, LAI, but he has not disclosed how much he made or what entity hired LAI.

Lt. Gen. Flynn’s involvement in advising Mr. Trump on matters relating to Turkey or Russia—including attending classified briefings on those matters—could violate the Trump for America, Inc. Code of Ethical Conduct, which states:

I will disqualify myself from involvement in any particular transition matter which to my knowledge may directly conflict with a financial interest of mine, my spouse, minor child, partner, client or other individual or organization with which I have a business or close personal relationship. Where there is no such direct conflict, but there may be an appearance of a conflict, I will address this issue for resolution to the TFA General Counsel. I currently have no knowledge of any such conflicts.

In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding signed on November 8, 2016, by the former Chair of the Transition Team, Chris Christie, and White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough requires that in order to obtain non-public information, including classified information, the Transition Team must:

Require the Transition Team member to sign a statement representing that, to the member’s knowledge, he or she has no financial interest or imputed financial interest that would be directly and predictably affected by a particular matter to which the information is pertinent.

The Memorandum of Understanding also requires the Transition Team to ensure that each member “has agreed to abide by the Transition’s Code of Ethical Conduct, and has thereby represented that he or she has no conflict of interest that precludes the individual from working on the matters the individual has been assigned to work on with the EOP or relevant Department or Agency.”

In order to address this issue, I request that you provide the following information by November 28, 2016:

1) a copy of Lt. Gen. Flynn’s signed Trump for America, Inc., Code of Ethical Conduct;

2) a copy of any other signed statement by Lt. Gen. Flynn representing that he does not have a financial conflicts of interest provided either to the campaign or to the Transition Team;

3) a copy of any information provided by Lt. Gen Flynn to the Transition Team in order to determine his business clients and to vet any potential financial conflicts of interest; and

4) a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Transition Procedures, signed by you as the Designated Chair of the Team.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

My wife, doing needlepoint over in the corner: " He's very disturbed. Probably scared of a strange toilet.".

LOL

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

"Reserve a part of your wrath ; you have not seen the worst yet. You suppose that this war has been a criminal blunder and an exceptional horror ; you imagine that before long reason will prevail, and all these inferior people that govern the world will be swept aside, and your own party will reform everything and remain always in office. You are mistaken."

Statistical Mechanic wrote:The second nice touch is more worrisome for Ryan IMO. There were not many people in that confab, a handful of bigwigs and their aides. Someone from that group told the WaPo about what was said and the tape. That's ugly . . . and it is "family" in the dysfunctional sense But who will be telling which media organization what next?

I've been wondering about this also. WHO taped that meeting and leaked it?

"Reserve a part of your wrath ; you have not seen the worst yet. You suppose that this war has been a criminal blunder and an exceptional horror ; you imagine that before long reason will prevail, and all these inferior people that govern the world will be swept aside, and your own party will reform everything and remain always in office. You are mistaken."

The fact that the G.O.P. is a party of apparatchiks was one crucial factor in last year’s election. Why did Marine Le Pen, often portrayed as the French equivalent of Trump, lose by a huge margin? Because France’s conservatives were only willing to go so far; they simply would not support a candidate whose motives and qualifications they distrusted. Republicans, however, went all in behind Trump, knowing full well that he was totally unqualified, strongly suspecting that he was corrupt and even speculating that he might be in Russian pay, simply because there was an “R” after his name on the ballot.

His argument is overstated: there does exist a handful of talking heads who are/were #nevertrump Republicans and who appear on TV regularly and write opinion columns.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

Statistical Mechanic wrote:Totally agree, that's why I added a comment to this post, which I meant as a joke, that stability this week surprises me. I'd been hoping that solid core was below 35%. IIRC Nixon got into the low 20s and W into the high 20s. That's what I'm looking for! The past two weeks will probably have revealed the floor - pending disasters.

I think we just have to wait for the economy to tank. But, with Trump addressing a Muslim audience this week, he'll be walking on a razor's edge. He HAS to say nice things about Islam and smooth over all the nasty things he has said in the past. The phrase "Islamic terrorism" was one he was proud to say out loud, the only politician who dared to do so. Now he's got to walk that back VERRRYY carefully. And in doing so, he's going to offend his base.

But the interesting part of the trip will be the European part, where they will have to spirit him into his meetings by landing a helicopter on the roof of a high building in order to keep protesters away from him.

"Reserve a part of your wrath ; you have not seen the worst yet. You suppose that this war has been a criminal blunder and an exceptional horror ; you imagine that before long reason will prevail, and all these inferior people that govern the world will be swept aside, and your own party will reform everything and remain always in office. You are mistaken."

Statistical Mechanic wrote:The second nice touch is more worrisome for Ryan IMO. There were not many people in that confab, a handful of bigwigs and their aides. Someone from that group told the WaPo about what was said and the tape. That's ugly . . . and it is "family" in the dysfunctional sense But who will be telling which media organization what next?

I've been wondering about this also. WHO taped that meeting and leaked it?

Breitbart says it is definitely Evan McMullen. They use unkind language about him. But not knowing for sure must unsettle these guys a lot. Is there more to come? That transcript - forget joke or not - is a very ugly thing for Ryan and the boys: they sound like a parody of cheap hustlers dividing the loot after knocking over a candy store.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

Statistical Mechanic wrote:Krugmanon the nature of the Republican party:

The fact that the G.O.P. is a party of apparatchiks was one crucial factor in last year’s election. Why did Marine Le Pen, often portrayed as the French equivalent of Trump, lose by a huge margin? Because France’s conservatives were only willing to go so far; they simply would not support a candidate whose motives and qualifications they distrusted. Republicans, however, went all in behind Trump, knowing full well that he was totally unqualified, strongly suspecting that he was corrupt and even speculating that he might be in Russian pay, simply because there was an “R” after his name on the ballot.

His argument is overstated: there does exist a handful of talking heads who are/were #nevertrump Republicans and who appear on TV regularly and write opinion columns.

Yes. Charles Krauthammer comes to mind.

"Reserve a part of your wrath ; you have not seen the worst yet. You suppose that this war has been a criminal blunder and an exceptional horror ; you imagine that before long reason will prevail, and all these inferior people that govern the world will be swept aside, and your own party will reform everything and remain always in office. You are mistaken."

Having now several times watched video of Trump's saying “There is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself and the Russians, zero,” I take the statement, with its bewildering syntax, as Trump's near-confession: the coordination and collusion during my campaign didn't involve "myself" with the Russians; I am now throwing others under the bus, ha ha.

Like all Trump statements, it sticks in the ear and refuses to go into the mind. He must have meant "only" instead of "always," in which case your interpretation is the only possible one.

"Reserve a part of your wrath ; you have not seen the worst yet. You suppose that this war has been a criminal blunder and an exceptional horror ; you imagine that before long reason will prevail, and all these inferior people that govern the world will be swept aside, and your own party will reform everything and remain always in office. You are mistaken."

Statistical Mechanic wrote:Totally agree, that's why I added a comment to this post, which I meant as a joke, that stability this week surprises me. I'd been hoping that solid core was below 35%. IIRC Nixon got into the low 20s and W into the high 20s. That's what I'm looking for! The past two weeks will probably have revealed the floor - pending disasters.

I think we just have to wait for the economy to tank.

Or the special elections to go against the R's. Long shot I think but if it happened, ouch.

Upton_O_Goode wrote:But, with Trump addressing a Muslim audience this week, he'll be walking on a razor's edge.

Upton_O_Goode wrote:But the interesting part of the trip will be the European part, where they will have to spirit him into his meetings by landing a helicopter on the roof of a high building in order to keep protesters away from him.

They didn't take him up on his offer of bringing Erdogan's boys along with him to each stop, eh?

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

I was thinking of Steve Schmidt, er Evan McMullen, David Frum, Anna Navarro, and Rick Wilson as the ones I see repeatedly. But they have almost no rank and file or leadership presence in the R party. PS Charles Sykes, too.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

At this point, they might as well be playing Notre Dame with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It wouldn't do any good to have a spy inside their huddle. In fact, they were famous for announcing out loud that "We're coming through THERE!"

"Reserve a part of your wrath ; you have not seen the worst yet. You suppose that this war has been a criminal blunder and an exceptional horror ; you imagine that before long reason will prevail, and all these inferior people that govern the world will be swept aside, and your own party will reform everything and remain always in office. You are mistaken."

"Reserve a part of your wrath ; you have not seen the worst yet. You suppose that this war has been a criminal blunder and an exceptional horror ; you imagine that before long reason will prevail, and all these inferior people that govern the world will be swept aside, and your own party will reform everything and remain always in office. You are mistaken."

NY Times editorial echoing yesterday's LA Times story on the damage already done to healthcare by Trump and the GOP, before Congress enacts anything. I would put it a little more strongly and say outright that Trump and his party are midway into a purposeful effort to wreck Obamacare.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817

FWIW polling on Trump's intelligence gaffe is very bad for him. Possibility that voters lean "traditional" on foreign policy and are less willing to trade off Bannon/Trump foreign policy for nirvana in the form of tax cuts, etc than Ryan, McConnell, and the rest.

. . . I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason—Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge. - John Keats, 1817